


sunflower

by spacenintendogs



Series: Three Mercenaries and a Baby [1]
Category: Star Fox Series
Genre: F/M, hahahshshdhs pls take this, hi how is everyone, other characters tagged and mentioned will be coming later i promise u, same with the relationships tagged
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:07:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27732013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacenintendogs/pseuds/spacenintendogs
Summary: Wolf O'Donnell is many things. The head of an underground criminal outpost, with the title of "Lord." Former pilot of now deceased Emperor Andross's guerilla unit, Star Wolf. Leader of Star Wolf, a rough mercenary squadron that assisted Star Fox during the Aparoid Invasion. Wanted for larceny and smuggling. Wanted for high treason. A feared prescence in the Lylat System by those that have and have not met him.And there he is with a baby in his arms
Relationships: Krystal/Fox McCloud, Lucy Hare/Falco Lombardi
Series: Three Mercenaries and a Baby [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2028535
Comments: 14
Kudos: 17





	1. one

The weight coming down on Wolf’s shoulders had him near collapsing. Nothing was on him except for the clothes on his back but something was pushing him down. Exhaustion. He couldn't remember the last time he was this physically exhausted. He slumped down on the couch, rubbing his temples. He’d taken off his eye lens. The metal of it had felt so tight around his head he couldn’t stand it along with his pulsing migraine. A huge brawl had broken out in Sargasso a couple of days prior, and the mess following was still not completely cleaned up. There were fatalities. Wolf had prided himself on keeping Sargasso under control enough so its residents wouldn’t turn on each other. That was gone. It exploded under his nose. He made sure the ones who’d started it and caused the most damage were banished if they hadn’t already been killed. The brawl had broken out in one of the makeshift bars. Of course, it had belonged to probably the sweetest people in the entire colony.

Wolf sighed. They’d been a lovely couple, the bar owners. Their names always slipped his mind, which frustrated him. How dare he? How could he? He’d always thought that the fact he didn’t know their names to be a good thing as it meant they weren’t on his shit list. But now, they deserved the proper respect of being remembered and honored and he couldn’t do that for them. There was a chance Leon or Panther could recall their names, but Wolf hadn’t had a chance to ask them. They were all on opposite sides of the station until they passed by each other going to bed. Wolf was constantly running down to the main levels only to run back to his quarters at the very top of the station. When he’d run back down, Leon or Panther would run back up. 

All because of the baby.

The couple who’d owned the bar had been gone for a while, as they were expecting a child. They’d returned to grab a few things and angry patrons got out of control. That was what he had been told, but seeing the damage, the bodies, it had to have been more than that. All he knew for sure was that the couple were caught in the crossfire. They’d brought the baby, who’d survived the whole ordeal. Wolf had been the one to find her in the backroom, safely hidden behind crates and under a blanket. Tucked into a baby carrier, it was a newborn. She couldn’t have been older than a few days. Wolf had picked up the baby carrier and walked right out of the back room. He stood in the open, holding the carrier, glaring down anyone who dared to make eye contact with him. The guilt on the faces let him know who had been a part of it. One hadn’t dared to pretend to feel guilt, he had started laughing. One snap of Wolf’s fingers and a point, that was all it took for Panther to sock the felon in the face. The crack had Wolf know Panther broke the monkey’s nose. Probably an old soldier of Andross like most of the Sargasso residents was.

Wolf found his hands full but he wanted all of his focus to be on the baby currently in his quarters asleep in one of his drawers because he didn’t have a crib and he didn’t want the baby cooped up in the little carrier. They didn’t have anything a baby needed, hell he didn’t even know what her parents named her. He questioned if she even had a birth certificate to go off of. Think. They had to have mentioned baby names they liked before they left. It was so familiar to Wolf yet it wasn’t there. The conversation happened but he couldn’t think of a single word uttered.

Wolf groaned, slumping further down into the couch. The day was done for him as far as he was concerned. He could focus on the baby. He heard her whine as if on cue. Wolf forced himself to stand up and head to his room. It was somehow more peaceful in his room than anywhere else. It was his room which might have had something to do with it. But ever since he brought the baby inside it was as if she shifted everything. They always said having a child changes your life, but children were never thought of in Wolf's mind. How could he raise a child well enough with the life he lived? How could he even consider bringing a child into the world he lived in.

Yet here he was with a baby cradled in his arms. A little lioness with her nose and mouth still a faint pink from birth. She yawned, making a little squeaking sound that sent Wolf's heart into overdrive. He couldn't explain it beyond the fact that he knew he was attached to her and he didn't want to give her up. The baby whined again. She had to be hungry, it was the only thing Wolf could think of. He'd just changed her diaper not too long before.

He carried her into the kitchen area. They did have a small amount of baby formula that was found in a bag next to the baby carrier. It also had a package of diapers, but given who they were it'd be difficult to find her a new family that would take care of her and they'd run out. Within the past two days, he'd gotten quite skilled at making a bottle using only one hand. The baby continued to whine as he held her.

"Alright… I'm sorry I still don't know your name," Wolf said softly as he brought the fresh bottle up to the baby's lips. "Here ya go," 

He was talking to a baby.

The baby tugged the nipple of the bottle with her lips and began to drink. Wolf looked down at her. She was so tiny, bundled in her blankets she'd been found with, her little head not big enough to fill Wolf's entire palm. He thought back to earlier as he'd been changing her, she'd tried to grab his finger with her hand. Her hand was barely the size of his fingertip. It had made him want to cry.

"I'm sorry I can't remember the names your mama and dad wanted for you," Wolf said. The baby continued to drink up the formula, eyes closed. Some of the formula was oozing out of her mouth onto her lips and cheeks. She finished and let go, and then yawned, formula sticking to her. Wolf made a strangled noise in his throat, a noise of frustration and awe at the adorableness of the baby cradled in his arms.

"Let's get you cleaned up, and then I think I'm supposed to what? Burp you? Is that what it's called?" Wolf gently dabbed away the excess formula on her lips with a warm, damp washcloth. 

Wolf switched the washcloth in his hand with a nearby hand towel. He maneuvered it over his shoulder. He wasn't entirely sure why parents did this whenever they had to burp their babies but he decided to do what was common. Wolf didn't see parents and their babies often, only in passing when on planets where civilians surrounded him, or from way back into his childhood and he had seen parents and their babies at the elementary school he had attended.

Wolf minded the baby's head, holding it as he held her upright, holding under her butt. He knew he had to pat her back, but where specifically? Wolf concluded that if he was supposed to burp her, then he should pat behind where her chest would be, so he did. A soft hiccup came from the baby, Wolf chuckled.

"There ya go, good girl," Wolf continued to pat her, just in case she had another one. She did, letting out another soft hiccup, as well as a little spit-up. So that was what the towel was for.

A few more pats, the baby not hiccuping again, Wolf stopped and cradled her back into his arms. He put the dirty towel in the sink, he'd clean it properly once either Leon or Panther got back. 

"Alright, what do ya wanna do now, huh?" Wolf rubbed the fur of the baby's cheek with a feather-light touch. The baby licked her lips and yawned.

"You tired? Full from all that drink in your tummy?" Wolf cooed, and then sighed. "I'm tired too," His stomach whined. "And hungry."

The baby's eyes closed. She couldn't keep them open for very long, Wolf noticed. Or open them very wide. He had wanted to see her eye color, it appeared to be blue but he thought there was gold in them. Wolf recalled one time his mother had explained to him that sometimes babies were born with blue eyes and their eyes changed to their actual color later. 

"C'mon, let's go sit down, yeah?" Wolf said, walking over to the small living room area. It wasn't much of a living room, a low, worn coffee table with two couches perpendicular to each other. Wolf sat down, the couch creaking beneath him. He laid the baby down on his lap, her head resting just below his knees.

"I'm gonna try and remember the names your parents wanted for ya," Wolf said.

The conversation was there in his mind, he could hear her voice, Nicolette. That was the mother's name. Nicolette and… the father. What was his name? He'd been a jovial fellow, a hearty sense of humor, soft-spoken but tough. Nicolette had been tough herself, more stern but she had a tender side. Like a proper mother. 

"Your parents would've been wonderful to ya," Wolf said. "Nicolette and… and…"

"Leslie! Your father's name was Leslie!" Wolf said, relieved. "Nicolette and Leslie."

The baby yawned. Wolf sighed. "Yeah, you don't know what I'm saying, but someday you will,"

Someday? Wolf tried to shake the thought away. Someday implied he'd be the one to take care of her. Someday implied he'd raise her. Someday implied he was suited to even consider such a thing.

"Wait, your father had a whole song he wanted to sing to you. The song had your name, they'd found out you were a girl…" Wolf trailed off. The tune had begun to play in his head. Dear… dear… the name, what was the name?

"Are you alright?" Leon's voice cut through Wolf's thought.

"Quick, I think I can almost remember the name they'd wanted for her! Do you remember that song Leslie had sung about her before she was born?" Wolf said, startled by Leon's presence but all the more grateful.

"Hm… the name began with a T," Leon tapped his finger against the side of his chin. "Can you hum the tune? Or sing it? I remember faintly but I had never quite paid attention,"

"Sure, Dear… uh… and then her name, but then it went something like, how to say to you? You have my eyes, you have your mother's name," Wolf sang. He internally cringed at himself, his voice too low in timbre, in his opinion, for the song. Leslie had been a wonderful singer, entertaining the little bar he and his wife owned.

"But she doesn't have her mother's name," Wolf huffed, "Her mother's name was Nicolette…"

"It was her middle name, she preferred it to her first name, if I recall correctly," Leon said. "Her first name was Theodosia."

They paused. A toothy grin spread on Wolf's face, eye alight with a joy Leon hadn't seen in a very long time. Not since before the Lylat Wars.

"Theodosia," Wolf said, half laughing, "Dear Theodosia, how to say to you?" Wolf sang, testing to be sure. It fit perfectly. "Oh my god, little Theodosia."

Leon gave a soft smile before it quickly disappeared from his face. Wolf hadn't noticed, too entranced by the child in his lap, smiling and humming softly, gently petting the child's head with his thumb, right by her ear. Leon knew where this was going, and he adored seeing Wolf so happy, but the risk of it all was too much.

"Quite a mouthful, isn't it? Her name?" Leon said.

"Hm?" Wolf looked up, "Oh, yeah kinda, I mean, we can shorten it to something if ya want?"

"Perhaps simply Theo will do," Leon said. 

"You wanna hold her?"

Leon pursed his lips together and looked away. "I'm not the best with children, especially babies."

"Didn't you have a ton of siblings?" Wolf asked, "And your mom would have you help her out with the little ones?"

"Just because I helped doesn't mean I was very good at it," Leon walked over and sat next to Wolf. "But I… can try to hold her," Leon hesitated when he reached out.

Wolf smiled, "A'ight, here you go, mind her head," Wolf gave Leon the baby, Theodosia. 

Leon looked down at her, "Now what?"

"That's it," Wolf laughed, "Ya just hold her, and she looks all cute"

"She looks like a fuzzy peach," Leon said, "With little wrinkles," His face contorted into mild disgust.

"She's got that soft babyfur, and she smells like a baby," Wolf said. Leon discovered back during the Lylat Wars that Wolf loved children. Babies, toddlers, all children. It was a love for the innocence they had. Wolf had even said once that children were smarter than any of them ever could be. Leon had nodded, but inwardly disagreeing.

"What does a baby smell like?" Leon asked.

"Baby powder and formula," Wolf shrugged.

"Ah," Leon said. He looked down at Theodosia again, eyes narrowing as he examined her face. "She is tiny,"

"She's not more than a few days old," Wolf said.

"Her eyes have little bits of blue but they're also yellow?"

"Babies are born with blue eyes, they turn to their actual color later usually,"

Theodosia yawned. It was a big one, her gums on full display with her tongue sticking out and curling. She squeaked. Wolf smiled as Leon's eyes slowly widened, his eyelids going back like they always did whenever he was happy. His pupils widened. Extremely happy.

"Hello, little one," Leon massaged the side of Theodosia's cheek with his thumb. 

"'I'm not the best with children, especially babies,'" Wolf mimicked. Leon glared at him.

"Shut up."

"It's okay if ya like her," Wolf said, "Really,"

"I do…" Leon admitted, "But what are we going to do?"

Wolf kept his gaze on Theodosia, staying silent.

"You want to keep her, don't you?" Leon questioned.

Wolf didn't respond.

"I know, but… how are we supposed to care for her? Properly? We can't exactly go to Corneria to the supermarket and grab everything she needs and come back without being noticed. We've already broken our pardons from the Aparoid Invasion because we run an underground criminal hideout, and have and still do our fair share of crimes," Leon said.

"Tell me something I don't know," Wolf muttered.

Leon shook his head, "Unless you're going to change the way we do things, I'm not sure what else we can do besides finding her a family that'll be good to her,"

"What if I'm willing to change things for her?"

Leon exhaled, "Then I'm going to continue to stay by you like I always have,"

"I know…"

They looked at Theodosia, who had fully fallen asleep in Leon's arms. 

"We'll have to discuss this with Panther once he's done for the day and comes back up here, but until then, let us just… enjoy her," Leon said.

"I wanna adopt her, Leon."

"I know, Wolf."

Leon looked down at Theodosia. He had the urge to hold her tightly to himself and give her affection, something he seldom received and even more seldom gave. 

"I know,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is also probably most likely lmfaooooooo i'm just a sucker for my faves being loving parents.
> 
> also sorry for all the character tags and relationship tags, everyone's gonna come as this goes along i promise u
> 
> anyways have a good day, ty for reading, ily <3


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Panther is here and the three Star Wolf members discuss what to do- and who to call- next

Panther arrived about three hours later. He’d been taking care of the mess from the fiasco and had gotten into a scuffle with one of the residents. It had been the ape he’d punched in the face two days prior, the one who had laughed at Wolf after he had found Theodosia. The scuffle hadn’t ended well for the ape. Panther wouldn’t say what exactly happened but he mentioned it had ended with the ape’s leg being broken.

“Theodosia, hm?” Panther said as Wolf gave him the little lioness. “Yes, I recall now, it is the name they had wanted for her,” Panther gently scratched the bridge of Theodosia's nose. Theodosia's eyes squeezed shut as she let out a little squeak. It sounded like an attempt at a purr, but Panther had explained lions couldn't purr like smaller felines. They made more of a "chuff" noise, and Theodosia was still too young to be able to do that. She squeaked instead and every time she did, Wolf wanted to hold her tight.

"We gotta decide what to do," Wolf began, "Do we find her a family or…"

"Wolf would like to adopt her," Leon got to the point.

Panther raised his brows, "Mmm… I figured as much that you would want to do so. The question is what is the best way to go about doing it?"

"So you're alright with it?" Wolf's mood lifted. "Really?"

"Of course I am, I mean, look at her." Panther held Theodosia up slightly. "Plus, your mood has been improved immensely since we've had her,"

"Haven't had her that long," Wolf said.

"All the more reason you being so much more of a pleasure to be around is important," Panther teased. He chuckled as Wolf gave a weak snarl, baring his teeth.

"Indeed, a pleasure," Leon said, "But we have to figure out how we're going to get what we need to take care of her. There isn't exactly a grocery store on Sargasso and we can't go planetside."

"I mean, we  _ could  _ go planetside, it's what we have to do to prepare for it, like who would be best suited to go and if a disguise is needed." Panther said.

"That answer is obviously you, you're the people-person here," Wolf said, "And you're easier to disguise than me or Leon,"

"How so?"

"You can cover up your scar. Leon and I can't cover up all this," Wolf gestured to his eyepatch and to Leon's entire body. "Even though everyone knows you're with Star Wolf, you've got an easier time blending in,"

"Funny considering Leon is a chameleon," Panther chuckled.

Leon shot a glare, "It does not work like that."

Panther shrugged, "Whatever, I suppose I am the "people-person" as you put it. I could travel down to Fichina and gather things… what exactly do we need?"

Wolf and Leon paused. Wolf looked at Theodosia in Panther's arms, fast asleep. She was snoring softly. What exactly did she need?

"Well, diapers for sure. And wipes," Leon said. "We've only got the one package and babies go through them quickly,"

"And you know this because…?" Panther asked.

"I had younger siblings." Leon stated. 

"Ah."

"We should get more formula, though I'm not entirely sure which types she needs or can have. The one we've got I think is low iron? Maybe more of those for now," Wolf stroked the scruff of fur on his chin. 

"And clothes for her? I don't want her wearing the same outfits all the time, we have to wash them, also little mittens for her hands." Panther used a finger to hold up one of Theodosia's hands. Her hand barely covered his fingertip and Wolf wanted to cry. He wanted to but he could never cry. Tears of joy or sadness, didn't matter. But Theodosia made him get close to tears he never shed.

"Why? We don't exactly have winter here. Unless you are referring to when we have to go to Fichina's surface?" Leon asked.

"There is that, yes, but also her claws will be coming in more and she will likely scratch herself. Common with felines and canines," Panther explained, giving Theodosia's hand a light squeeze and showing her tiny claws. One of her claws wasn't even a quarter of the size of Wolf's. 

"Is there anything else she'd need?" Wolf asked.

"... If there is, I don't know." Panther said. "There… could be someone we could ask for help."

"And who is it you're thinking of?" Wolf had an inkling who Panther would say.

"McCloud."

Wolf let out a lengthy, over dramatic sigh. "Very funny," Wolf knew Panther wasn't joking. They'd heard Fox and Krystal had their own baby. 

"Who else are we going to call? Andrew doesn't know much about babies. Falco has to know less than him, and then Slippy, while he's expecting his second child, I'm not sure where he is after Star Fox went their separate ways."

"Aquas from what I have heard, but that is farther than where Fox is. From what I hear, Fox and Krystal are still on the Great Fox." Leon chimed in.

"Understandable, Fox's mortgage on that ship from what I've heard is monstrous. Almost criminal." Panther shook his head.

"Alright, I'll give him a call," Wolf decided. "I'll invite him here. I don't want Corneria tapping us and listening."

"Why?" Panther asked.

"... I think they'd take her away." Wolf said. The way his gut churned at the thought of Corneria taking Theodosia away was beyond uncomfortable. Wolf never thought of himself as an anxious person. This made his heart race in an unfamiliar way. He'd had his fair share of panic attacks, and still had them, but this underlying, non-extreme anxiety he thought was worse. It lingered and he hated it.

"They shouldn't have the grounds to do that." Leon said.

"They don't, but we're not upstanding citizens of Lylat, are we?" Wolf reminded him.

"Are you going to call McCloud now?" Panther asked. Theodosia woke up with a sneeze. Panther made a disgusted noise as a spray of snot hit his chin and chest. Leon cackled, nearly falling to the ground. He leaned on Wolf for support. Panther wiped his chin using his shoulder.

"I could," Wolf cleared his throat to hold back his own laughter, "Give him a call now. You need a tissue?"

"She needs one," Panther looked down at Theodosia.

"You can try to teach her how but I don't think she is going to learn," Leon said, "Not now,"

"Very funny. Pass me a tissue though?" Panther extended his hand out to Leon who pulled a tissue out from his pocket and flicked it over to Panther. Panther gently dabbed it at her nose and then rubbed his chest and chin.

"They’re probably busy, if they don’t answer we try something else?" Wolf asked. He fiddled with his communicator. He did not want to call Fox. Following the Anglar Blitz and Krystal leaving Star Wolf and Star Fox ending all together, Wolf kept his distance. There was no point in keeping in contact when he had been in contact begrudgingly in the first place. However, he'd be lying if he said he didn't miss Krystal's company.

She was a good friend, one of the better friends Wolf had the privilege to have during his life. Krystal had been the balance they needed at the time and gave them perspectives they hadn't considered before. She had helped Wolf realize he could still make his own choices and they didn't have to be only the ones expected of him. He also learned to meditate from her. Panther was heartbroken, a little overdramatically in Wolf's opinion, about Krystal and Fox getting married but it made sense in Wolf's mind. And he knew while Panther's feelings were genuine, he fell in love easily. He hoped if Fox and Krystal both showed up that it would go over well.

Fox on the other hand, was tricky. Their relationship was tenuous at its best and sheer hatred at its worst. Wolf had been surprised when Leon accused him of getting too close to Fox during the Anglar Blitz. Wolf flat out denied it. It was true, of course, he hadn't felt like he was going soft on McCloud. But then again, something did bite at Wolf as Leon said that. Wolf respected Fox. Highly respected him. Fox was the one person who constantly kicked him down again and again and again. But more often than not Wolf would start those fights and egg Fox on.

It was safe to say Wolf's worry in Fox denying them help was there. But he knew better than that. Fox was going to help whether he liked to or not, because Fox was a good person and too selfless to the point where he was selfish. Wolf hoped Fox learned that by now given that selfish selflessness nearly cost his relationship with Krystal.

"You don't want to, do you?" Leon asked, deadpan.

"I really don't." Wolf typed in The Great Fox's communications number. Wolf huffed as his thumb hovered over the call button. "I really  _ do not _ want to."

"Too bad," Leon reached and tapped the call button. Wolf glared at him as he shrugged. "Get it out of the way so we can prepare for their arrival and not have a skirmish break out."

Wolf opened his mouth to retort when the line went green. 

"Hello? Who is this?" Fox's voice came from the communicator.

"Hey…" Wolf forced.

"Wolf?!"

“Yeah, yeah, don’t sound too surprised,  _ pup, _ ” Wolf nearly spat. Leon lightly smacked Wolf’s arm.  _ Behave. _ Wolf scoffed and then sighed. “Look, I need a favor,”

“You want me to hold still so you can shoot me right in the skull?” Fox never missed a beat.

“I’m being serious. It’s…” Wolf trained his eye on Theodosia. “But I can’t go into too much detail over communications,”

“Why?”

“He’s paranoid,” Panther spoke up. He chuckled as Wolf growled at him.

“Eh, I can get that,” Fox said, “I don’t know, though. I don’t like going in blind with you three. I don’t want to end up with some gang’s hands around my throat,”

“It’s got nothing to do with anything illegal,” Wolf said. He forgot how much of a pain Fox was. “I’m being serious, really.”

“Hmm…” Fox hummed. Faint noises and whispers could be heard on the other side of the line. He was likely talking to Krystal. Or he was holding his own baby. A sigh, “Alright, I’m guessing we’re not meeting in public?”   


“Bring the Great Fox over to Sargasso Space, we’ll fly over to ya and discuss there,” Wolf said.

“Why not just have us fly over to you from the Great Fox?”

“You think my people are gonna wanna see you?”

“Mmm, good point,” Fox said. There was the slightest hint of guilt in his voice and Wolf couldn’t help but feel satisfaction in that. “Okay, Krystal and I are actually nearby, so…? See you in about two hours?”

“Errr, yeah sure.” Wolf shrugged. “See you soon,”

“Bye,” The line went red.

Wolf deflated as he exhaled, “Honestly that went better than I thought it would,”

“It’s because you refrained from instigating,” Leon said.

“Me? Instigate? Nah, never,” Wolf said. He held out his arms towards Panther.

“What?” Panther asked.

“Give me the baby,” Wolf said, “... Please,” 

“Your effort in politeness is valiant,” Panther gave Theodosia to Wolf. Theodosia whined and squirmed a bit before resettling in Wolf’s arms.

“Very funny,” Wolf said dryly, the majority of his attention on Theodosia. He soothed her by rubbing the back of her head with a light touch. Theodosia yawned and opened her eyes. They were bleary and wet. Wolf didn't know if she was about to cry or if her eyes were like that. He found out babies were… leaky? He didn't know how else to put it.

Wolf looked up and curved his lip up in confusion. "What?"

"Nothing," Leon said. There was awe in his eyes as well as Panther's. 

"Nothing at all," Panther echoed.

"Alright, we should prepare the Wolfens then? It's a super short trip but-" Wolf began to make his way towards the hangar.

"Erm, she can't sit in a seat and we can't hold her in our hands while flying," Panther said, "Perhaps it would be best to find a way for her to travel safely, Cap'n?"

"Don't start that 'cap'n' shit with me again," Wolf said half-heartedly. "And what do we do? Not like I've got a spare baby seat lying around,"

"Hm… I've got an idea," Leon said, ambling over to his room for a moment before returning with a longer piece of cloth. Leon took Theodosia from Wolf and gave her back to Panther, "Arms out," He said. Wolf huffed loudly and did as he was told. Leon wrapped the cloth around and made a homemade baby sling. "There. Put her in."

Panther put Theodosia into the sling. Wolf made sure to stand up tall. He kept one arm under her, to be safe. 

"Does it feel tight enough?" Leon asked as he fiddled with the baby sling.

"Feels like it, don't think she'll fall," Wolf said. He dropped his arm down and took a few steps forward. "Yeah, this should be good… nice job,"

"Thank you," Leon said. "You certainly look like a father now,"

"What's that supposed to mean?" 

"Oh, nothing," Leon chuckled. "But you might as well go out like this, it's more than enough of a disguise. I don't think our residents will recognize you,"

"I'm more worried about what they're gonna say," Wolf admitted, "The majority of the people here are mercenaries and outlaws like us with no real loyalties,"

"We'll get there when we get there, right now she is our focus," Panther said, giving Wolf a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. 

Wolf nodded and made his way to the elevator. "They're gonna be pissed when McCloud shows up,"

"Yep." Panther said, "But they also can stay out of our business. They don't like it when we pry about theirs,"

"Mm, true," Leon said.

The elevator creaked down towards the hangar. Wolf checked the time. They had about an hour and a half before Fox and Krystal arrived. The anxiety in Wolf resurfaced, his gut churning and chest tightening. What for? This was Fox McCloud, someone he'd never been afraid of in his entire existence knowing him. 

"What are you worried about?" Leon broke the silence.

"I'm not worried," Wolf lied.

"You are worried," Leon stated.

"I dunno, I'm because I am, now stop asking," Wolf growled.

"Fine. When you're ready, talk to us," Leon said firmly. And that was that. The rest of the trip down was silent. Wolf was grateful for it because it meant no more questioning, but he hated it because it made his anxiety much louder.

The doors of the elevator opened to the hangar. Wolf sighed. "Let's get this over with..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this was short and if the ending was a weird portion to end. i was gonna make this longer by having the whole thing with them going to the great fox and talking with fox and krystal but i felt?? this was the way to go. i do want chapter 3 to be longer though aaaaah
> 
> ty for reading!!!!


End file.
